


never a hero

by lester_sheehan



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen, Implied Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-09
Updated: 2015-06-09
Packaged: 2018-04-03 17:05:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4108426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lester_sheehan/pseuds/lester_sheehan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set around 4x15- not really in line with canon at all, but I wanted to write something where the trio found out about Regina’s lying and were keen to let her know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	never a hero

Regina stares at the group before her, face set, hands wrung tight. Snow, Charming, Emma. They’re all watching her, eyes full of pity and something else entirely, something she hasn’t seen- or wanted to see- in a long, long time… _fear_.

Emma runs a hand through her hair, feet spread apart, as though she doesn’t know whether to fight or flee. She’s torn, not wanting to break Regina’s cover but wanting so badly to pull her friend out, to end this ruse and bring her to safety. To bring all of them to safety. 

“So,” Cruella drawls, “How can we help you all?” Emma’s eyes flicker to Regina. Although she smiles, cruel and thin, her fist is clenched beside her, nails drawing blood. 

“Of course, I’m joking,” Cruella says, a smirk contorting her features, narrowing her eyes. “It’s not like you can leave.” And then she laughs, and the sound is so shrill and hellish that Regina can’t help but roll her eyes. She may have been overdramatic, in a different time, in a different life, but she still had a sense of regality to her- which is more than she can say for the fur-covered bat. 

“Why do you want us here?” Emma sighs, magic flaring. 

“For one very simple reason, darling. To know that you failed.”

Emma takes a step back as though she’s been shot, as though pain wracks through her and leaves her body numb. Her breathing is shallow, face full of disguised worry. “Failed what?” she demands, but she already knows, regardless of whether or not she’ll admit it so freely. 

Ursula moves closer to Regina, and all Emma can do is watch as Regina lifts her head, smiling wryly, and gives a small laugh. It doesn’t sound as bitter as she’d probably hoped, but instead is full of a shattering sadness, like glass breaking against the ground, splintering out, tearing through exposed skin. “What are you saying here?” she says, head shaking slowly.

Maleficent speaks up for the first time all evening, voice low. “We’re saying that you’ve been lying to us, Regina, and we’ve known for a _very_ long time.” Her words lack the heartened malice of the other two, and Emma thinks she hears something else beneath them. 

“Is that what you think? And why- someone tell me- would I dare to ruin my chance of a happy ending? Why would I let that be taken from me again?” Her teeth are clenched, the words spitting out like venom. 

“Because your idea of a happy ending has changed,” Maleficent says. And that’s all it takes for Regina to move, to realise that it’s gone too far, that she’s in too deep. There’s no changing their minds, no getting them back on her side. So she does what she does best, and she brings out the darkest parts of herself, drawing the magic from within and letting it be released. She’s repressed it for so long, but she refuses to remain a pawn in this game. If dark magic is what will save them all, then she just has to risk losing herself in the process.

Maybe her happy ending is dying a hero. 

But her hopes are quenched just as quickly as they’d been sparked, chains locking onto her hands, the raging flames dissipating into the air, like breath on a mirror. She glares down at the metal rings around her wrists, tugging at them with all the strength she can muster. “What is this?” she hisses, and a bead of sweat trickles down her forehead. 

“Gold gave them to us. They strip the wearer of any magical properties. Temporarily, of course, but just how long isn’t really in your control right now,” Cruella says. 

“Let her go,” Snow interrupts, edging closer. A need to protect Regina surfaces, guilt over involving her rising up. 

“Well, why ever would you want that, darling? Does the phrase “poisoned apple” mean nothing to you?” Cruella tuts and turns to face Regina, hooking a slender finger beneath her chin and lifting it upwards. “There’s no point struggling, dear. You’ll only embarrass yourself.” 

Heart racing, Regina leans forward, face inches from Cruella’s. In a deadly whisper, she says, “The minute these are off, I will rip-” 

She never finishes her sentence. There’s a sickening sound and then the glint of a silver blade protruding from her stomach. Mouth open, she glances down at the liquid dripping from the tip, falling to the floor like blood-streaked rain. 

“Regina!” Emma yells, finally regaining the ability to move. She runs forward, reaching for her sword, but Maleficent is faster. With a flick of her sceptre, Emma’s sent flying into the nearest wall, the crash of the impact combining with the clatter of metal as her only weapon drops to the floor. 

Ursula wraps a tentacle around Regina’s waist, keeping her from sinking to her knees. “If only you’d kept your mouth shut,” she teases, layering her voice with false sympathy. “Maybe your death would have been kinder.” 

And then she squeezes, tighter and tighter, until Regina forgets what it’s like to breathe. Her head is light, patterns and shapes and memories long passed flitting across her vision, black spots dancing in the corners, hearts beating in the shadows. She refuses to show fear, to let them get to her. She refuses to let them win. 

Amongst all of the chaos and mess, she sees Emma push herself up from the ground, wiping gravel and shards from her palms. “Go,” Regina mouths, barely able to talk. 

“Regina,” Emma says, as though the concept of leaving her is unthinkable. “I- No. I can’t just go- I promised you-”

“It’s better Henry have one mom than none.” Emma goes to interrupt, but Regina raises a hand and without making a sound, it’s enough; her eyes betray what words cannot do justice. 

As Emma turns to run, grabbing her parents by the wrists, the three villains simply look on. Emma stops at the exit, turning back one last time, unable to shake the feeling that something is deeply, deeply wrong. “And you’re just going to let us leave?” she says. 

Maleficent steps forward, glowering. “You’ve seen the result of your actions… now you can go.”

And that she does, leaving Regina alone to the mercy of her captors, the reflections of her former self, bleeding out onto the rocky floor. 

“Well, I never thought they’d leave _that_ easily,” Cruella says, giving a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. “I guess they never cared all that much about you, darling.” She moves in front of Regina and bends down towards her, blocking what’s left of her vision, filling it with black and white and plastered grins, the fur from her coat brushing against Regina’s cheek. 

“If you come any closer, I may have to cough up a hairball,” Regina grunts, wincing at the pain it causes. 

Cruella just clasps her hands together and straightens her back. “Still so snarky,” she smiles, as though she’d won the greatest prize of all. “At least there’s one thing left of you.” 

“Not quite a villain, never a hero,” Ursula smirks. “I guess you just chose the wrong side.”

And then she wraps her tentacles so tightly around Regina’s middle that she can’t help but release a small whimper. A solitary tear makes it way down her face, filled with a lifetime of regret and guilt and watching everyone else get their happy endings, of sorrow and lost loves and trying so hard to change, of getting everything and yet nothing all at once. 

She thinks of Henry, of Emma, of the family they were in New York, and she knows that Henry couldn’t be in better hands. She just wishes that she could hold him in her own one last time. 

And as the darkness completely takes over, and the light fades away, she imagines brushing the hair out of his eyes and placing a kiss on his forehead, and she pictures his unconditional and eternal love. 

And then she sees nothing. 

***

When she next opens her eyes, she’s greeted with a scene far too bright for her liking, and it takes her a while to adjust. There’s a continuous noise in her head, a pain resonating throughout, and she feels as though she’s been run over by a truck. Twice. 

“Mom?” The noise makes her shoot up, forcing her mind to clear, but the movement’s too fast and she hasn’t yet recovered, leaving her wincing at the searing pain in her stomach. She ignores it and sweeps the boy into her arms, closing her eyes tight and drawing him near.

“Henry, are you okay?” she whispers against his ear. “Did they touch you?”

“I’m fine, Mom, honest.”

Regina leans back, arms still on his shoulders, and studies his face intently, looking for any sign of harm. She tilts her head to the side and sighs. “I was so worried about you.” 

Henry smiles, warm and loving, and it’s enough to make all of her fears go away. It’s also enough to make her realise that they are not alone, and that she’s sitting in a hospital bed hooked up to a machine. 

She coughs awkwardly at the sight of Emma in the chair, and brushes a wayward strand of hair from her face. “Miss Swan, just what are you doing in here?” She feels exposed, raw. “In fact, what am _I_ doing in here?”

“You really think I’d leave you on your own in there? My magic may be stronger than you think,” Emma says, shrugging it off as though it’s no big deal. Her eyes drift to Henry as she raises her eyebrows, and Regina knows that it’s a story for another time. “And as for now, well… I thought I’d make sure you didn’t die. Especially after I went through all the trouble of saving you.”

Regina rolls her eyes and crosses her arms upon her chest, feeling suddenly vulnerable in the white room. “Don’t be absurd. I had it under control.” She pulls a wire or two from her arms and looks down at her tattered clothes. “Now let’s get out of here before the Charmings show up. It may be the only thing that could make this embarrassing ordeal worse.” 

“Actually,” Emma winces, “they’re already here. Who do you think brought the grapes?”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not really sure what this turned out to be, but I hope that you enjoy it. It's my first time writing for Once Upon a Time, so I was slightly terrified about the characterization. I have a few other pieces I might upload, but it depends how this goes. 
> 
> If you like it, please don't hesitate to let me know c:


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